


long kiss goodnight.

by milominderbinder



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is a gay disaster, Boys Kissing, Dating, Flirting, Human AU, M/M, cocktails, new relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 08:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17464127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milominderbinder/pseuds/milominderbinder
Summary: Alec is a few weeks into dating Magnus, a cute bartender who has taken it upon himself to find a cocktail Alec actually likes.  One night, Magnus succeeds.Three drinks in, Alec is definitely besotted, disastrously gay, and can't quite handle this conversation about cocktail names.





	long kiss goodnight.

**Author's Note:**

> there's not really a point to this, except that malec are cute and i find cocktail names very funny
> 
> (also i wrote this in like 90 minutes so if u spot any typos i'm sorry in advance)

Alec is three cocktails into the evening, and the world is seeming a little  _ fuzzy. _

The thing is, he didn’t get an early start on drinking like most of his peers did -- he lasted all the way through college and didn’t have his first drink until he was twenty-three -- so he doesn’t have much of a tolerance to alcohol yet.  For a guy of his size, he’d readily admit he basically has  _ no  _ tolerance to alcohol, actually.  This has always been fine, since he doesn’t really like the taste of any kinds of alcohol and therefore doesn’t feel much compulsion to ever drink it.  Or at least, he never had before.

Before he started dating Magnus Bane, that is.  Magnus, who describes himself as  _ avid alcohol enthusiast,  _ and works evenings in a classy cocktail bar while he’s putting himself through grad school.  Whenever Alec goes over to Magnus’s place, Magnus is experimenting with new and interesting combinations of drinks that he thinks Alec might like.  He hasn’t had a huge amount of success up until now. Tonight, though, he hit on a great one, something with whiskey and some sort of rich fruity overtone that makes it blend like honey on Alec’s tongue.  So. Alec’s had three. The lights in the apartment are dimmed, Magnus’s roommate is out, and Alec is sprawled across a couch, feeling delectably warm in the stomach and red-cheeked as he watches Magnus moving on the other side of the room.  Magnus is making Alec a fourth cocktail. There’s a cosy little smile pulling his lips tight, like he’s pleased to have finally found something Alec likes.

“Here you go, darling,” Magnus says, smiling as he dots across the room in his bare feet and delivers another precariously full glass to Alec’s hand.  Alec sits up a little straighter on the couch, darting quick for a second to slurp up a potential spill where the drink nearly sloshes over the side. As Magnus settles into the couch next to Alec with his own drink, he laughs and admonishes, “Careful!  Maybe I should cut you off after this.”

“Probably a good idea,” Alec murmurs -- he really does never drink this much -- but Magnus probably isn’t serious.  Alec takes another long sip of his drink until it’s no longer a threat of spilling, and then, almost shyly, curls a little closer.  He debates in his mind for one long moment, before being tipsy gives him the added confidence he needs to stretch out his left arm and drape it behind Magnus’s shoulder.  

He decidedly doesn’t look at Magnus as he does it, but out of the corner of his eyes, he sees the smile on Magnus’s lips tighten as he leans back into Alec’s arm.  Alec’s stomach flips with the sheer build-up of nerves and excitement and  _ Magnus. _

They haven’t been dating that long, is the thing.  Maybe longer than it would take most people to get to this place, but Alec hasn’t really dated before, so Magnus was fine with taking things slow.  They’ve kissed, before,  _ made out  _ Alec would even say, but it’s all still so new.  Finding his way into the sort of casual intimacy where he knows when is a good time to touch Magnus, to know when it’s okay to be cuddly -- that is all brand new to Alec, and confusing, and exciting, and certainly adds to the flush that the alcohol has already put on his cheeks.

Magnus switches his glass to his left hand and rests his right hand on Alec’s thigh, ever so casually.

Alec’s stomach clenches.

“So -- uh --” Alec clears his throat.  There’s technically a movie playing on the TV, but the volume is keyed down low and he hasn’t been paying attention to it for at least the last half hour.  He doesn’t even remember what genre it is, because he can’t make himself look far away enough from Magnus to notice it. “What’s this drink called again?”

It’s the best thing he can think to change the subject to, and gives him an excuse to stare into his glass as he swirls the amber liquid around, trying to get his blush under control.  The points where the inside of his arm is touching Magnus’s shoulders and Magnus’s hand is resting on Alec’s thigh feel white-hot. He wants to kiss Magnus, but they’re both holding drinks and it would probably be awkward to angle their bodies like this, right?  He sort of wants to ask Magnus to marry him but they’ve only been dating three weeks so he’s pretty sure he’s not supposed to. Drinks are definitely the safest bet.

“You know, it doesn’t actually have a name!  I was just making it up with some ingredients I thought would be fun, so I’m glad you like it so much.  I should probably give it a name, shouldn’t I?”

“Probably,” Alec agrees, as if he knows anything about these things.  “Cocktails usually have funny names, don’t they?”

“Hmm.”  Magnus glances across at him wickedly.  “Or flirty ones.  _ Sex on the beach  _ is the classic example.”

Oh, as if  _ that  _ helps Alec’s blush.  He presses his lips together and tries hard not to picture Magnus naked in the sand.  Tries very, very hard.

“Yeah, I’ve actually tried that one.”  Alec pauses, takes a drink, and then suddenly splutters.  “The -- the cocktail, I mean! Not the -- I mean, I haven’t tried  _ actually  _ \-- I just.  I’ve had the drink.”

He’s only broken out of his flustered stuttering by the sound of Magnus laughing.  He’s not laughing  _ at  _ Alec, if his fond eyes are anything to go by, but he seems to be finding it pretty funny.  He stops after a moment and his hand rubs up and down Alec’s thigh, over his knee and back up again, almost unconsciously.

Alec’s skin prickles with goosebumps.

“There are lots of drink names that are just designed for wooing people, really,” Magnus carries on, like Alec didn’t just act as awkwardly as humanely possible.  “The _love potion martini_ is always a favourite of mine.”

“I’ve heard of a _Manhattan Love Story_ before,” Alec offers.  “I think that has whiskey too.”

“Hmm,” Magnus agrees, and tucks his legs up onto the sofa so he can turn in the space of Alec’s arm to face him more.  He’s looking coyly right into Alec’s eyes as he adds, “Shame we’re not in Manhattan.”

The word  _ love  _ in anything related to him and Magnus is just -- too much for Alec to handle.  He very nearly says  _ I want to have your babies  _ but just in time changes it to a weak, “Izzy made me drink something called Cinnamon Toast Punch before.”

That makes Magnus laugh.  “Well, I hope you like the original at least, because if the Chinese food doesn’t get here soon all I can make you for dinner is cereal.”

He gestures across the small apartment to the kitchen, which is very small and doesn’t seem to have any food except cereal out on the counters, along with several dirty pans -- Magnus’s roommate Ragnor is apparently a bit of a mess.  Alec has yet to meet him.

“Yeah, I do,” Alec says, although even if Magnus was offering him he was deathly allergic too he’d probably still take it, if it meant them having dinner together.  “And it definitely wouldn’t be the first time I’ve eaten cereal for dinner in my adult life. Or, like, in this week.”

Alec lives with his sister.  Neither of them can cook. Cinnamon Toast Crunch is actually probably a pretty balanced meal in comparison to most things he eats.

“Now you’re making me worry about your nutrition, Alexander.  I should probably have you over for dinner far more often, just to be safe.” 

“Oh, yeah?”  Alec grins, so wide it actually kind of hurts, as he looks into Magnus’s deep brown eyes.  “Because you’re the king of nutrition, ordering me Chinese takeout?”

Magnus quirks an eyebrow playfully.  “Are you complaining about the thought of having dinner with me, now?”

“Oh, definitely not.”  For a minute they just look at each other, both kind of dopey and grinning.  Alec’s had a horrid week at work but he can barely remember any of the stress or any of the times he got yelled at by his stupid boss right now, not when he’s all wrapped up in Magnus, in the newness of all of this, in how he feels like his life is moving  _ forward  _ in ways he’s never seen it move before.  “But, hey, you’re dodging the question. What are you naming your drink?”

Alec’s almost finished his fourth one of the cocktails, now, and he’s still surprised by how much he likes it.  He feels like Magnus must have to know him pretty well to get it this right, and he likes that idea.

“I suppose I should name it based on who it was inspired by,” Magnus says.  He rests his head on Alec’s arm and smiles up at him. “What about  _ did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” _

“Oh, wow.”  Alec holds it together for a couple seconds, before cracking a huge grin.  “That was  _ cheesy.” _

Magnus laughs, delighted and open.  “Thanks, thanks, I try. Well, it does have hazelnut liqueur in there.  What about  _ hazel eyes?” _

Admittedly, that one makes Alec blush, but it’s not like that’s hard -- not for Magnus, at least.

“You should name it after yourself and call it  _ shameless flirt,”  _ he suggests.

“Oh, hush, you love it.”  Alec has nothing to say to that -- it’s true.  He’s never had anyone flirt with him like Magnus does before, and it somehow catches him off guard every single time.  Magnus hums around the rim of his glass before continuing, like he’s thinking very hard, “Maybe I’ll just call it  _ Alexander.   _ I don’t know.  I think my favourite cocktail name for you has already been taken.”

This is certainly the first Alec is hearing of  _ that. _

“You have a favourite for me?”

“Hmm.”  Magnus doesn’t say anything else, eyeing Alec with a coy smile and  _ clearly  _ enjoying the suspense, until Alec nudges him in the ribs.  Magnus laughs, and Alec can’t help laughing too.

“You have to tell me!”  He reaches to set down his now-empty glass on the table so that he has a free hand to point accusingly at Magnus.  “You have to tell me, or I’m gonna eat all the Chinese food all by myself when it finally gets here.”

“Oh, well in  _ that  _ case.”  Magnus is teasing, as usual.  He swallows the last gulp of his own drink and sets the empty glass down on the coffee table, before letting his now-free hand drift up and trace a soft, wandering pattern into Alec’s neck.  “It’s a bit nostalgic, really. A chocolate martini thing. It’s called a  _ Long Kiss Goodnight.” _

Heat creeps up Alec’s neck, and he can’t tell whether it’s from that name or from the way Magnus’s fingers are still dancing across the skin of his throat.

“Oh?”  His voice cracks on the first word, because Alec’s body  _ loves  _ letting him not ever seem like he’s got a modicum of chill.  “I’ve, uh, never had that one.”

“Yes, you have,” Magnus tells him.  Alec blinks. “It’s what I made for you on our second date.”

Alec thinks back to three weeks ago.  Their first date had been at a coffee shop but their second date he came over to Magnus’s place for drinks and a movie.  He’d been  _ so  _ nervous.  He’d changed his shirt five times before leaving his place, and when he reached the steps of Magnus’s place he’d felt so flushed with nerves that he’d gone all woozy and had to sit down and count to ten under his breath.  The second he got inside, of course, all he could think about was how charming Magnus was, and how easy to be around, and how Alec spent more time laughing in those couple of hours with Magnus than he usually did all week -- the whole date had flown by before he remembered what he was nervous about to begin with.  He definitely hadn’t been focused on the  _ drinks,  _ though.

“You didn’t tell me it was called that!” he accuses, shoving Magnus playfully in the ribs again, but immediately pulling him back close when Magnus pretends to fall back against the cushions.

“I thought it might scare you off,” Magnus admits.  “You looked like you were going to jump right out of your skin the first time I kissed you on the cheek.  Besides, you didn’t even like the drink.”

“No,” Alec admits.  He’s not a chocolate  _ or  _ a vodka sort of guy.  “But I did -- I mean, I  _ did  _ like the kiss goodnight.”

Because that had been the night of their first kiss.  At the end of the night, when Alec’s uber had come to pick him up, Magnus had walked him to the door of the apartment, eyes glimmering, ring-adorned fingers playing with his hair like  _ he  _ was the one who was nervous instead of Alec, and Alec hadn’t been able to help himself.  He’d leaned in with his whole body and caught Magnus’s lips and it had sort of felt like the first time his body had ever come to life.  He’d felt bright yellow fireworks right down to his fingertips. He’d kept the kiss going for so long that his uber almost left without him.

“Me, too,” Magnus agrees.  His voice is very very soft and his eyes are even softer.

They look at each other, for a moment.  Alec abandons the idea that it would be too awkward to kiss from this angle.

He twists his body around and, just like the first time but with at least twice as much confidence, pushes up against Magnus’s lips all at once.  He curls the arm still around Magnus’s shoulders to twist their bodies closer together, cups Magnus’s jaw with his other hand, and kisses him, kisses him soft and passionate in the special little world that the touch of their mouths have made.  He feels like he exists in just their tangled breath, in the push and pull of their lips, of the gentle wet brush of Magnus’s tongue against his, of the shiver that runs the whole way down his spine when Magnus’s nails scratch against his neck. Alec twists his body on the couch, bringing one knee up to try and get closer, try and feel every inch of Magnus that he can --

And then all of a sudden, definitely four cocktails in, Alec twists a little too far on the narrow couch, loses his balance, and goes tumbling right off it to land crumpled on the floor.

“ _ Uuuuugh,”  _ he groans, flinging his hands across his eyes.  The delightful sensation of Magnus’s mouth is gone in an instant and his elbow hurts.  He is possibly more embarrassed than he’s ever been.

“I changed my mind,” Magnus says, with a loud sigh.  When Alec peeks between his fingertips to see, though, Magnus is barely holding in laughter.  He reaches for Alec, and says, “I’m going to call this cocktail  _ Alexander Can’t Hold His Booze.” _

**Author's Note:**

> i'm also at [minderbindered on twitter](https://twitter.com/minderbindered) and [milominderbindered on tumblr!](http://milominderbindered.tumblr.com)


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